An affectionate travelogue that conveys not only impressions of everyday life and descriptions of unique Tibetan customs and traditions but brings us Tibetan history, politics, and religion from a fresh, unstudied perspective Despite the determined efforts of the Dalai Lama to publicize the Tibetan cause, for many the people, culture, history, and traditions of this country remain mysterious. Niema Ash was one of the first Westerners to enter the country when its borders were briefly opened, and in this highly absorbing and personal account, she relates with wit, compassion, and sensitivity her encounters with people whose humor, spirituality, and sheer enthusiasm for life have carried them through years of oppression and suffering. This journey into a forbidden kingdom gives a fresh insight into the real heart of Tibet.

Niema was born and brought up in Montreal. At the age of 14 Niema embarked on a trip to New York; from then on she knew that travel was a driving passion fundamental to her existence. Leaving home an adolescent, she returned an adult, with a husband, baby and a career. She has traveled extensively throughout the world punctuated by periods spent in her native Canada. In the early sixties she had a daughter, Ronit, whom she raised while living and working with some of the most influential musicians and poets of our time. In her first book 'Touching Tibet', Niema Ash was described as 'the ideal author of a travel book: passionate, curious, self-critical, and with a rare ability to describe not just the outward appearances of a foreign land but to penetrate and evoke in splendidly vivid prose, its very essence'.